The Canadian Media Guild has begun filing grievances against S-VOX to fight the way employees are being treated, specifically as a result of the company’s recent decision to issue layoff notices to nine employees. These are the first grievances since employees chose the Guild as their bargaining agent in 2004.

“We don’t dispute that an employer has the right to eliminate positions when work is actually disappearing”, says CMG staff representative Keith Maskell. “But very little of the work is actually going away. In fact, the expectation seems to be that the volume of promo production will actually go up. It’s outrageous that the company is ignoring some of the most important provisions of the collective agreement and shoving once-valued employees out the door, when there’s work available for them to do.”

Adding insult to injury is the company’s decision to create a new management position, while at the same time requiring that person to do work that is clearly within the Guild’s bargaining unit. This denies qualified employees the opportunity to do the work.

We believe strongly that S-VOX has violated our collective agreement, and we’re prepared to make our case before a third party if necessary. We are seeking remedies for the affected employees.

For more information contact Keith Maskell at keith@cmg.ca .